Too Tempting Not To Touch

He chuckled again, standing to his full height to tower over her so that her head was on par with his chest, and dropped his hand from her chin. “I’m glad I provided a good distraction.”

Riana whined inside at the loss of contact, which surprised her enough to bring her out of her daze. “What?”

He lowered his head and Riana had to press against the wall to try and move away from him. He brought his hand up and placed it on the wall close to her ear and leaned even closer to her. Riana thought he was going to kiss her, and it oddly excited her. She wanted him to kiss her.

 A total stranger.

Correction, a smoking hot total stranger.

He let out a lusty sigh and stared deep into her eyes before shifting them to her lips. Riana swallowed audibly then ran the tip of her tongue over her dried lips.

“I wouldn’t mind providing another kind of distraction. One that would leave you feeling very relieved for dumping your ass of a boyfriend, just for his shortcomings.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

Riana jumped and turned to face Loraine’s voice but the hot guy remained as he was—apparently not at all bothered that they’d been caught almost—damn—kissing. Loraine stared at her with a raised brow, an exasperated look on her face. She shook her head and Riana could read the action—you never learn Riana.

He sighed and casually straightened, putting a very large distance between them.

Riana felt her face heat and she quickly looked away from her friend and definitely away from the hot guy who had, moments ago, cornered her with his large body and towering height, like a cat to a mouse.

She bit her lips together to keep the smile hidden. She liked being cornered by him.

“Sir, your girlfriend is looking for you.”

“Girlfriend!” Riana blurted out looking at Loraine.

With a pitying look, Loraine nodded. “Yes, girlfriend.”

Riana turned to the man but he didn’t spare her a glance. He just smiled that seductive, mind numbing smile and said ‘excuse me’ before he walked away confidently.

Riana slumped against the wall and groaned. “Do I have stupid written on my forehead? Because if not, I think I should. Brand my stupidity right here,” she said, and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, “so that I will always be reminded by every guy who sees it right before they hit on me.”

Loraine grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “You are a waitress of a catering company and he is a billionaire entrepreneur. He acquires businesses then tears them down and throws the pieces to the hyenas for a quick buck. You do not want to be like one of those poor, unfortunate businesses that he sets his eyes on. Allan Sinclair is a big no-no, Riana.”

Allan Sinclair? He didn’t look like an Allan. His name should be big, imposing, and downright sexy to suit him.

Riana shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind for one night,” she drawled the words out before even giving them a thought.

“What?” Loraine half-yelled.

Riana turned to look at the direction in which this Allan Sinclair had disappeared. She may not have been conscious of it when she was with him—when his hot breath was on her face, his lips inches away from hers, his body so close she could feel the heat radiate from it—but now that she thought about it, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. It would be one night of unadulterated, mind-blowing sex that would put Claire and Steve’s affair to shame.

 Yes, she decided, that’s what I want. To finally be at the receiving end of great sex that would make her scream her lungs out and fry her brains, not the ten seconds Steve always gave her. Well, she now understood why. He was giving it all to Claire and Riana was just his by-the-by. For once she wanted to come first, both by action and deed.

Loraine gently turned her face to the side. “You see the super model dressed in hooker red going into the manager’s office? I don’t think she’ll be all for the mind blowing sex with her boyfriend you are conspiring in your dirty little mind.”

Boyfriend. Riana let out a tired sigh as she rubbed her face with her palms. He had a girlfriend and after what she went through that night, she wouldn’t do that to another human being. “I think I’m losing my mind.”

Loraine chuckled. “Oh, no. You have the right idea, just the wrong guy.”

“Loraine, Riana, I need one of you to get to the floor now and the other to get the extra champagne from the manager’s office,” their boss yelled right before she stepped back into the kitchen.

“I’ll go to the manager’s office,” Loraine offered.

Riana knew she was trying to protect her from the tall, hot, and sexy girlfriend who had just crushed her fantasy, but Riana wasn’t going to allow it. If she was to get those brown eyes out of her mind, she needed to see the girlfriend. “No, I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?”

Riana smiled. “Yes, I am.”

Riana walked silently to the manager’s office, her thoughts still deep in those brown eyes. She hadn’t realized she’d walked in unannounced until she heard the familiar noises. She blinked repeatedly, just to make sure she was really seeing the girlfriend bent over the desk, her hooker dress bunched up at her waist, bearing her breasts, her thong around her knees and an enthusiastic man, who was not Allan Sinclair, with his pants around his ankles pumping into her like a rutting dog.

“Oh yes, fuck me, Michael. Harder, faster!” she screeched.

Riana quickly rushed out and shut the door. It was like watching Claire and Steve all over again and her chest twisted in pain and her eyes burned. She couldn’t watch another betrayal.

“Oh, no you don’t. Don’t you dare start crying again.”

Riana jumped and looked up. It was the hot guy again. Allan Sinclair. She couldn’t let him see what she just did. It would rip him apart like it was her. She placed herself in front of the door. “Don’t go in there.”

He smiled. “Why?”

Why? Think Riana, think. “Just don’t.”

If he wasn’t looking at her, she would have smacked her head. Really, dangling a carrot? Where is Loraine when I need her!

“Ah-ha,” he responded slowly with a nod.

Riana yelped when he pulled her from the door, and gathered her against his chest, one arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She struggled to move but his grip on her was unyielding.

He swung the door open. “What are you hiding—”

“Don’t!” But even as she said it she knew it was too late. She heard a gasp behind her and the woman’s voice cry, “Allan!” and the man’s voice shout, “It’s not what you think.”

Riana shook her head then buried it in Allan’s hard chest. Steve had said those same words to her and they slashed through her chest like a knife. But this time the pain was for Allan, not for her.

“It never is,” Allan responded. His voice was so low and cold that she felt a chilling fear rush through her.

She flinched when she felt his fingers under her chin again. Not wanting to piss him off even more, Riana looked up at him. Even with the smile he gave her, she could clearly see the storm brewing in his eyes.

“Thank you,” he whispered, then released her shoulders and her chin. She knew she’d just been dismissed, but she didn’t want to leave him alone with this. It wasn’t something a person should confront without support; she knew that all too well.

He gave her another smile. “I’ll be fine, Riana.”

The way he said her name sent a shiver of another kind through her body. Without thinking, she moved up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him in a tight hug. She felt his hand rub her back and she knew she needed to let go, as good as holding him might feel.

She drew in a breath, taking the scent of him in her lungs. He smelled like a wet forest after a rainy day. Refreshing. Then, acting without thinking, again, pressed a kiss to his neck.

“You’ll be alright because you deserve so much better,” she whispered in his ear, then, with all her courage gone, she didn’t waste any time high-tailing out of there, without a backward glance—champagne be damned!